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REPRINT  AND  CIRCULAR  SERIES 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  RESEARCH 
COUNCIL 


REFRACTORY  MATERIALS  AS  A  FIELD  FOR 
RESEARCH 

By  Edward  W.  Washburn 
Chairman,  Committee  on  Ceramic  Chemistry,  National  Research  Council 


^   ^ 


Published  in  the  Journal  of  the  American  Ceramic  Society 
January,  1919,  vol.  2,  no.  1,  pages  3-31 


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REPRINT  AND  CIRCULAR  SERIES 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 

NUMBER  3 


REFRACTORY  MATERIALS  AS  A  FIELD  FOR  RESEARCH 
A  SURVEY  OF  THE  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS  OF  THE  SUBJECT* 

BY  EDWARD  W.  WASHBURN 
CHAIRMAN,  COMMITTEE  ON  CERAMIC  CHEMISTRY,  NATIONAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 

1.  Definition  of  the  term  refractory  material. — For  the  purpose  of  de- 
fining an  homogeneous  class  of  materials  for  systematic  investigation, 
the  term  'refractory  material'  will  be  here  understood  to  signify  any  non- 
metallic  material  capable  of  withstanding  elevated  temperatures,  with- 
out destruction  or  deterioration  (by  fusion,  sublimation,  chemical  de- 
composition or  physico-chemical  transformations)  so  rapidly  as  to  pre- 
clude its  use  in  the  construction  of  vessels,  linings,  furnace  walls,  flues, 
etc.,  subjected  to  high  temperatures.  Although  resistance  to  high  tem- 
peratures is  the  primary  and  distinguishing  characteristic  demanded  of 
refractory  materials  as  a  class,  almost  every  refractory  employed  in 
modern  industry  must  also  exhibit,  while  at  a  high  temperature,  an  ade- 
quate resistance  toward  one  or  more  of  the  following  destructive  agents : 
(1)  pressure  or  load;  (2)  mechanical  vibration;  (3)  frequent,  rapid  and 
unequal  heating  or  cooling,  or  any  one  or  more  of  these;  (4)  the  stresses 
set  up  by  expansion  or  contraction  of  other  parts  of  the  furnace  or  vessel 
of  which  the  refractory  material  is  a  component  part;  (5)  mechanical 
abrasion  by  ashes,  cinders,  etc.,  or  by  the  furnace  charge  itself;  (6)  the 
chemical  action  of  atmospheric  and  furnace  gases;  (7)  the  slagging  action 
of  the  furnace  charge  or  of  materials  given  off  by  it;  and  (8)  the  chemical 

*  Reprinted  from  the  Journal  of  the  American  Ceramic  Society,  January,  1919,  2,  no.  1, 
p.  3-31. 

This  report  was  drafted  under  the  auspices  of  the  Section  of  Industrial  Research  of 
the  National  Research  Council,  as  a  preliminary  step  in  the  consideration  of  the  nature  of  the 
problems  involved  in  research  in  this  field  and  of  the  possibilities  of  attacking  them  by  con- 
certed action. 

1 


2  REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 

action  of  any  other  furnace  parts  such,  for  example,  as  the  electrodes  or 
the  heating  element  in  an  electric  furnace;  and  in  certain  special  cases  the 
refractory  must  (9)  while  at  high  temperature  (a)  remain  a  good  electrical 
insulator,  or  (b)  become  an  electrical  conductor;  or  (10)  (a)  remain  a  good 
thermal  insulator,  or  (b)  become  to  a  given  degree  a  thermal  conductor. 

2.  The  importance  of  the  subject.1 — Every  industrial  plant  which  em- 
ploys high  temperatures  in  any  part  of  its  work  has  a  more  or  less  acute 
problem  of  refractory  materials  to  deal  with.     The  refractory  materials 
employed  may  vary  in  type  all  the  way  from  the  ordinary  firebricks  (such 
as  are  employed  in  the  boiler  settings  of  the  power  plant)  up  to  highly 
specialized  materials  designed  to  withstand  one  or  more  of  the  special 
destructive  agents  mentioned  above.     Railway  locomotives  and  the 
power  plants  of  ships  can  be  operated  with  the  highest  efficiency  only 
when  properly  designed  refractory  materials  are  used  in  their  construc- 
tion.   Practically  all  of  the  metallurgical  industries,  both  those  which 
have  to  do  with  the  extraction  of  metals  from  ores  as  well  as  those  en- 
gaged in  working  the  various  metals  or  preparing  alloys,  have  especially 
trying  and  difficult  refractory  problems  to  meet.    An  important  part 
is  also  played  by  refractory  materials  in  the  manufacture  of  electric 
furnace  products  (such  as  abrasive  materials,  graphite,  carbide,  nitrogen 
products  from  the  air,  and  a  variety  of  other  chemical  products) ;  of  glass 
and  quartz  articles;  of  lime,  cement,  potash,  fuel  gas,  ammonia,  coke, 
and  many  of  the  pigments;  and  of  course  of  all  ceramic  products. 

As  a  field  for  industrial  research,  the  subject  of  refractory  materials  is, 
therefore,  fundamental  in  character,  widespread  in  its  practical  applica- 
tions and  of  great  national  importance.  The  present  trend  of  many 
industries  in  the  direction  of  using  increasingly  high  temperatures2  in 
their  operations  is  a  further  indication  of  the  growing  importance  of  a 
thorough  and  systematic  scientific  investigation  of  the  various  problems 
connected  with  the  preparation  and  use  of  refractory  materials. 

3.  Conservation  of  fuel. — In  a  high  temperature  furnace  or  kiln,  where 
the  internal  temperature  required  is  higher  than  the  refractory  lining 
will  withstand,  it  is  customary  to  protect  this  lining  by  artificial  cooling 
either  by  means  of  air  or  water.     Such  artificial  cooling  naturally  results 
in  a  great  waste  of  heat  and  in  a  corresponding  greater  consumption  of 
fuel.     The  ideal  arrangement  would  be  to  cover  the  outside  of  the  fur- 
nace with  a  good  thermal  insulator  so  as  to  retain  this  heat  in  the  furnace, 
but  in  many  cases  under  present  conditions  such  an  insulation  would  re- 
sult in  the  rapid  destruction  of  the  refractory  lining,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  this  lining  would  soon  attain  the  temperature  of  the  inside  of  the 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  3 

furnace.  It  is  obvious  that  the  development  of  refractory  materials 
which  would  permit  the  thermal  insulation  of  industrial  furnaces  would 
result  in  an  enormous  fuel  saving  since  the  wastage  resulting  from  present 
methods  is  one  of  the  large  elements  in  the  total  fuel  consumption  of 
industrial  furnaces.  Perfect  adaptation  of  the  refractory  to  furnace  con- 
ditions (temperature,  pressure,  chemical  action,  mechanical  abrasion,  etc.) 
is  one  of  the  big  problems  whose  successful  solution  would  constitute  a 
great  contribution  to  the  fuel  conservation  movement. 

4.  Annual  production  and  consumption  of  refractory  materials  in  the 
United  States.— Complete  statistics  on  the  annual  production  of  refrac- 
tory materials  and  products  in  the  United  States  do  not  seem  to  be  avail- 
able in  public  records  but  from  the  data  at  hand  the  value  of  the  annual 
production  of  such  materials  may  be  safely  estimated  as  greater  than 
sixty  million  dollars. 

The  following  statistical  data  on  the  subject  have  been  recently 
compiled  at  the  writer's  request  from  the  records  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey. 

Bauxite  refractories. — In  1917  the  bauxite  used  for  the  manufacture 
of  refractory  wares  was  about  12,000  tons.  Approximately  three  mil- 
lion bricks  2\  x  4|  x  9  inches  were  sold,  valued  from  $50  to  $380  per  thou- 
sand. In  1917  the  bauxite  used  in  the  manufacture  of  refractory  wares 
was  over  2500  tons,  but  exact  figures  are  not  available,  nor  is  informa- 
tion as  to  the  quantity  or  value  of  the  products  made. 

Refractories  manufactured  from  quartz,  chert,  silica,  fused  silica,  etc. — 
Except  as  elsewhere  noted  concerning  silica  brick,  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey has  no  record  of  the  manufacture  or  production  statistics  of  refrac- 
tory wares  made  of  these  materials.  Only  the  total  output  of  silica  in 
various  raw  forms  is  known,  and  this  is  not  separated  or  classified 
according  to  uses. 

Refractories  manufactured  from  ganister. — There  is  no  available  record 
of  the  refractory  wares  and  materials  made  of  ganister.  The  Survey's 
record  of  ganister  production — that  is,  sales  of  quarry  products — is  as 
follows : 

Production  1913-1917 


YEAR 

SHORT  TONS 

VALUE 

1913 

S  376,775 

1914 

288,244 

1915 

573,304 

336,267 

1916 

859,956 

529,805 

1917 

1,001,630 

1,117,558 

REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 


Mica  schist  for  furnace  lining. — The  following  data  concerning  the 
production  of  mica  schist  for  furnace  linings  are  available : 


Production  1913-1917 


YEAR 

SHORT  TONS 

VALUE 

1913 

$45,102 

1914 

54,567 

1915 

24,625 

1916 

33,236 

47,304 

1917 

39,975 

85,986 

Magnesite  refractories. — Statistics  of  the  quantity  and  value  of  mag- 
nesite  produced  and  sold  in  the  United  States  are  available,  but  no  in- 
formation is  at  hand  as  to  the  proportions  of  this  material  which  enter 
into  refractories,  magnesium  chloride,  magnesia-alba,  manufacture  of 
paper  and  other  products.  The  Geological  Survey  assumes  that  the 
only  source  of  information  as  to  the  quantity  of  refractory  brick  and 
shapes  made  from  magnesite  in  the  United  States  would  be  by  a  canvass 
of  the  manufacturers. 

Dolomite  refractories. — The  Geological  Survey  has  only  the  following 
statistical  information: 

Estimate  of  dolomite  and  equivalent  in    dead  burned'  lime,  produced  for  refractory  purposes 

1914-1917 


YEAR 

DEAD  BURNED,  SHORT  TONS 

UNBDRNED,  SHORT  TONS 

1914 

13,053 

26,058 

1915 

50,223 

100,446 

1916 

136,240 

267,446 

1917 

176,876 

234,720 

Chromite  refractories. — There  is  no  available  information  on  the  quan- 
tity and  value  of  chromite  used  in  the  manufacture  of  refractory  wares, 
or  on  the  value  of  the  refractories  manufactured,  other  than  statistical 
data  showing  that  4364  long  tons  of  chromite  in  the  form  of  refractories 
were  consumed  during  the  first  half  of  1918  and  that  1959  long  tons  were 
similarly  consumed  during  July,  1918. 

Graphite  refractories. — So  far  as  known  to  the  United  States  Geologi- 
cal Survey,  there  are  no  statistics  showing  quantity  of  molded  graphite 
articles,  such  as  graphite  crucibles,  anywhere  available  for  the  years  asked 
for,  or  for  that  matter,  for  any  periods. 

Quartz-glass  and  fused  silica  refractories. — No  available  data. 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  5 

Zirconia  refractories. — Data  concerning  the  total  annual  production 
of  zirconium  minerals  are  contained  in  the  Annual  Mineral  Resources 
Reports. 

Rare  earth  refractories. — The  following  information  is  taken  from  the 
report  on  the  gas-mantle  industry  now  in  the  files  of  the  United  States 
Tariff  Commission. 

Production  and  importation  of  thorium  nitrate  in  the  United  States,  1913-1917 


YEAR 

QUANTITY  PRODUCED 

QUANTITY  IMPORTED 

pounds 

pounds 

1913 

' 

112,105 

1914 
1915 
1916 

Information   confidential 
cannot  be  published 

144,413 
78,516 
22,261 

1917 

1,877 

Clay  refractories. — The  following  statistics  on  the  value  of  clay  re- 
fractories manufactured  in  the  United  States  for  the  years  1913  to  1916 
have  been  compiled  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey: 


PRODUCT 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

Fire   brick,    including   refractory 

block  or  tile,  boiler  and  locomo- 

tive tile,  tank  blocks  and  similar 

refractory  products  

$16,811,316 

$13,476,022 

$15,800,062 

$25,155,519 

Other  fire  brick,  including  some 

special  shapes,  etc  

134,635 

115,144 

121,747 

311,052 

Silica  brick,  including  clay-bond 

and  lime-bond  brick  

3,815,806 

2,951,525 

3,039,869 

5,650,610 

Zinc  retorts  

(c) 

576,655 

823,545 

1,553,691 

Zinc  condensers  

(d) 

176,591 

260,436 

512,453 

Glass  melting  pots  and  other  glass- 

\**V 

house  refractories  (Special  effort 

to    collect    statistics  of    these 

products    from    the    consumer 

manufacturing  for  his  own  use 

was  not  made  prior  to  1915)  .  ... 

568,603 

498,096 

719,889 

1,989,754 

Gas  retorts  

65,846 

41,372 

23,835 

35,821 

Charcoal  furnaces  (portable)  

37,217 

36,243 

32,865 

27,280 

Muffles,  scorifiers,  assay  supplies 

and   crucibles    (other   crucibles 

are  included  with  chemical  por- 

celain and  chemical  stoneware)  .  . 

63,869 

67,367 

98,105 

364,563 

Saggers  (prior  to  1917  statistics 

for  saggers  were  not  collected 

from  the  sagger  consumer  man- 

ufacturing for  his  own  use)  

(«) 

(e) 

(«) 

34,476 

REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 


PRODUCT 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

Chemical  porcelain  and  chemical 
stoneware  

(/)  224,894 

(/)  246,918 

(f)  620,401 

1,054,061 

Potters'  supplies  (pins,  stilts,  and 
sours)  .  .  . 

125,987 

130,740 

126,780 

188,643 

Mantle  rings  and  special  ware  for 
gas  lighting  and  heating,  includ- 
ing magnesia  ware  and  refractory 
porcelain  for  electric  ranges  and 
heaters  (including  a  small  valua- 
tion for  pins  and  stilts)  ...        .    . 

(«) 

(e) 

172,261 

220,849 

Undistributed  refractory  products.. 

364,519 

329,423 

22,288 

Total  

$22,212,692 

$18,646,096 

$21,862,083 

$37,098,772 

(c)  Reported  by  one  producer  only  for  1913,  and  included  with  Undistributed  refractory 
products' — statistics  for  zinc  retorts  were  not  collected  prior  to  1914. 

(d)  Reported  by  one  producer  only  for  1913  and  included  under  Miscellaneous — statistics 
for  zinc  condensers  were  not  collected  prior  to  1914. 

(e)  Reported   by   less    than    three   producers — included    in    'Undistributed    refractory 
products.' 

(/)  Chemical  porcelain  and  chemical  stoneware,  not  separately  classified  prior  to  1916, 
were  probably  partly  reported  under  Stoneware  and  Yellow  and  Rockingham  ware  in  1913, 
1914,  and  1915. 

5.  An  organization  for  the  prosecution  of  research  in  refractory  materials. 
— In  outlining  and  describing  the  various  aspects  of  the  subject  of  re- 
fractory materials  as  a  field  for  research,  we  shall  first  create,  for  conveni- 
ence of  presentation,  an  hypothetical  organization,  which  we  shall  assume 
proposes  to  engage  in  a  complete  and  systematic  study  of  all  problems 
connected  with  the  nature,  preparation,  properties,  and  industrial  ap- 
plication of  refractory  materials.  It  should  be  understood  that  the  par- 
ticular organization  described  below  is  a  purely  fictitious  one  created  on 
paper,  merely  as  a  convenient  machine  for  setting  forth  in  systematic 
fashion  the  various  scientific  aspects  presented  by  the  subject  of  refrac- 
tory materials  as  a  field  for  research.  It  is  not  suggested  that  this  type 
of  organization  would  be  the  most  suitable  one  for  actually  undertaking 
to  carry  out  research  in  this  field,  since  in  constructing  an  actual  working 
organization  various  practical  questions  would  have  to  be  considered 
which  do  not  enter  into  a  plan  of  organization  designed  merely  to  display 
the  different  scientific  aspects  of  the  problem.  It  is  not  the  writer's 
intention  to  propose  at  this  time  any  particular  type  of  working  organi- 
zation since  the  formation  of  such  an  organization  would  require  the  com- 
bined labors  of  a  group  of  experts  familiar  with  all  of  the  practical  ques- 
tions involved.  It  is  hoped,  however,  that  the  type  of  organization 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  7 

employed  here,  for  the  purpose  indicated,  will,  in  so  far  as  it  sets  forth  in 
systematic  manner  all  of  the  various  scientific  aspects  of  the  subject,  be 
convenient  as  a  starting  point  in  planning  some  practical  working  organ- 
ization for  undertaking  the  solution  of  the  many  important  questions 
which  our  subject  presents. 

With  this  explanation  therefore  we  shall  assume  that  our  hypothetical 
research  association  or  corporation  finds  it  convenient  to  organize  itself 
into  divisions  for  handling  the  different  parts  of  its  work.  These  divi- 
sions might  be  somewhat  as  follows. 

A.  The  Board  of  Trustees  and  the  Executive  Committee. 

B.  The  Scientific  Director  and  the  Advisory  Committee. 

(1)  The  Division  of  Statistics,  Publication  and  Indexing. 

(2)  The  Division  of  Phase-Rule  Investigations. 

(3)  The  Division  of  Physical,  Chemical,  and  Ceramic  Properties  of 
Raw  Materials  and  Manufactured  Products. 

(4)  The    Division    of    Standard    Methods   for   Testing   Refractory 
Products. 

(5)  The  Division  of  Raw  Materials  Specifications. 

(6)  The  Division  of  Manufacturing  Methods. 

(7)  The  Division  of  Standard  Specifications  for  Refractory  Products. 

(8)  The  Engineering  Division. 

(9)  The  Division  of  Geology  and  Mining. 

(10)  The  Division  of  Coordination  and  International  Cooperation. 
6,  The  Board  of  Trustees  and  the  Executive  Committee. — The  Board  of 

Trustees  would  be  charged  with  the  raising  and  expenditure  of  all  funds 
and  would  exercise  general  supervision  over  the  financial  affairs  of  the 
Association.  It  would  elect  the  Scientific  Director  and  on  his  nomina- 
tion appoint  the  chiefs  of  all  Divisions. 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Board  would  be  empowered  to  act 
for  the  Board  in  the  intervals  between  Board  meetings.  After  receiving 
the  recommendations  of  the  Advisory  Committee,  it  would  prepare  the 
annual  budget  for  presentation  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  would  also 
prepare  the  program  of  business  for  each  meeting  of  the  Board. 

7 '.  The  Scientific  Director  and  the  Advisory  Committee. — The  Scientific 
Director  would  exercise  general  supervision  over  all  of  the  research  work 
of  the  Association.  He  would  make  all  nominations  for  heads  of  Divi- 
sions and  would  transmit  to  the  Executive  Committee,  with  his  recom- 
mendations, all  nominations  for  appointment  to  positions  on  the  re- 
search staff.  For  a  time  at  least,  he  might  also  act  as  the  head  of  one  of 
the  Divisions  since  he  would  presumably  be  specially  qualified  as  an  ex- 
pert in  at  least  one  of  the  principal  lines  of  work  of  the  Association. 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 


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COOPERATING  AGCNC 
With  principal  divisional 
indicated. 

AMtnicAMCcriAHrc  SOCIETY 

AMCniCAflC*EMIGAt.3oCICLTY 

AMUIICAN  Cuic  rfrocHfrt  Socic  TY 
AMcittcAH  /HAT.  WINING  Cus'na 
AMCFI  •Soc  /err  nvr  Tea  rfc  MA  rt-3. 

XSSOC  AHCfll<MN£>T4TC.  GCOLO&STS 
BVHtAU  OrSTANDAnO* 

REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  9 

The  chiefs  of  all  Divisions,  together  with  possibly  one  or  two  additional 
members  of  national  reputation  as  experts  in  industrial  research,  would 
constitute  an  Advisory  Committee  to  the  Scientific  Director.  This 
Committee  would  be  charged  with  the  preparation  of  the  annual  pro- 
gram of  research  and  the  necessary  budget  for  accomplishing  it.  This 
program  and  budget  would  be  transmitted  by  the  Director  to  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  which  body  would  exercise 
the  final  judgment  concerning  the  program  and  budget  to  be  presented 
to  the  Board. 

8.  Division  L  Statistics,  publication  and  indexing. — The  duties  of  this 
Division  would  be  as  follows: 

(1)  The  preparation  of  an  exhaustive  classified  bibliography  of  the 
extensive  and  widely  scattered  literature  on  the  subject  of  refractory 
materials  and  all  matters  relating  thereto.    This  bibliography  should  be 
indexed  and  cross-indexed  to  the  fullest  degree  so  that  the  literature 
might  be  utilized  to  the  best  possible  advantage.    After  publication 
this  bibliography  should  be  kept  up  to  date  by  means  of  annual  or  semi- 
annual supplements  which  might  be  combined  decennially  into  new 
editions. 

(2)  By  cooperation  with  the  American  Chemical  Society,  the  work  of 
securing  and  publishing  abstracts  of  all  papers  dealing  with  any  aspect  of 
the  subject  of  refractory  materials  should  be  promoted  and  improvements 
secured  in  the  abstracting  and  in  the  arrangement  and  cross-indexing  of 
the  abstracts  in  the  pages  of  Chemical  Abstracts. 

(3)  To  supplement  the  above  bibliographic  material,  the  Division 
might  arrange  with  competent  experts  for  the  preparation  and  publica- 
tion, from  time  to  time,  of  critical  digests  in  the  form  of  monographs  on 
selected  topics.     Each  of  these  monographs  should  be  an  exhaustive, 
critical  presentation  and  discussion  of  all  the  essential  known  facts  con- 
cerning the  subject  matter  and  should  contain  a  complete  set  of  tables 
of  numerical  data  and  a  complete  bibliography.     In  this  way,  it  would 
be  possible  to  build  up  gradually  a  library  of  authoritative  and  trust- 
worthy works  of  reference  dealing  with  all  the  various  aspects  of  refrac- 
tory materials  and  their  uses. 

Each  important  refractory  material  (silica,  magnesite,  kaolin,  alumina, 
etc.)  might  become  the  subject  of  such  a  monograph  as  might  also  the 
practice  and  requirements  of  each  type  of  industry  employing  refracto- 
ries. Not  the  least  value  of  such  a  set  of  monographs  would  be  its  revela- 
tion of  the  relatively  small  amount  of  really  reliable  scientific  data  avail- 
able on  the  subject  of  certain  refractories  and  the  enormous  amount  of 


10  REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 

work  which  still  remains  to  be  accomplished.  The  preparation  of  such  a 
monograph  should  precede  the  undertaking,  on  any  extensive  scale,  of  a 
program  of  research  on  any  given  topic. 

(4)  The  biennial  publication  of  a  handbook  of  tables  of  physical,  chem- 
ical and  ceramic  constants  relating  to  refractory  materials  and  products 
as  well  as  standard  methods  for  testing  and  examination  would  be  valu- 
able.    In  the  preparation  of  such  a  handbook,  this  Division  would  work 
in  cooperation  with  Division  3. 

(5)  Either  through  the  medium  of  a  journal  of  its  own,  or  preferably 
through  arrangements  with  one  or  more  established  journals,  the  Divi- 
sion should  provide  for  the  publication  of  all  investigations  carried  out 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Association,  in  all  cases  where  such  publication 
has  been  approved  by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

(6)  By  cooperation  with  the  appropriate  governmental  agencies,  such 
as  the  Bureau  of  the  Census  and  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
the  Division  should  endeavor  to  secure  improvements  in  the  collection 
of  statistics  relating  to  refractory  raw  materials  and  manufactured  prod- 
ucts, to  the  end  that  all  valuable  statistical  information  on  this  subject 
may  be  properly  collected  and  classified. 

(7)  This  Division  might  also  become  responsible  for  the  more  general 
diffusion  of  accurate  information  concerning  the  manufacture  and  use  of 
refractory  materials  and  to  this  end  might  inaugurate  a  publicity  pro- 
gram for  educational  purposes. 

9.  Division  2.  Phase-rule  investigations. — This  Division  would  have 
general  charge  of  the  initiation,  promotion,  and  direction  of  the  most 
fundamental  as  well  as  the  most  difficult  and  expensive  scientific  studies 
which  are  required  in  building  up  our  scientific  knowledge  of  refractory 
materials  as  chemical  substances. 

As  regards  the  common  characteristic  possessed  by  all  refractory  ma- 
terials, that  of  resistance  to  high  temperature,  the  initial  problem  pre- 
sented for  experimental  investigation  is  to  a  large  degree  a  problem  in  phys- 
ical chemistry  involving  as  its  most  important  feature  the  application  of 
the  phase-rule  and  the  laws  of  solutions.  Thus,  in  accordance  with  the 
known  laws  of  physical  chemistry,  the  effect  of  the  presence  of  impuri- 
ties in  a  refractory  material  is  always  to  decrease  the  refractory  power,3 
except  when  the  proportion  of  the  impurity  is  so  large  as  to  cause  the 
composition  of  the  mixture  to  coincide  with  a  maximum  point  in  the 
phase-rule  diagram  for  the  system,  under  which  conditions  the  effect  of 
the  'impurity'  may  be  either  a  decrease,  an  increase,  or  no  change  at  all 
in  the  refractory  power,  depending  upon  the  materials  involved.  Ac- 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  11 

cording  to  the  same  laws,  it  is  also  in  nearly  all  cases  true  that  the  larger 
the  number  of  materials  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  a  refractory 
product,  the  lower  will  be  its  refractory  power.  A  great  many  of  the 
patents  issued  for  refractory  materials  cover  products  whose  manufac- 
ture violates  all  of  the  principles  mentioned  above.  These  principles 
are  also  violated  in  the  rather  widespread  idea  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the 
refractory  power  of  a  given  material  can  be  increased  by  mixing  with  it 
a  second,  more  refractory  material.  Indeed  the  various  formulas,  which 
are  given  in  text  books  and  treatises  on  ceramic  subjects,  for  calculating 
the  refractory  power  (i.e.,  softening  point)  of  a  mixture  from  its  composi- 
tion and  the  melting  points  of  its  components,  seem  to  have  been  formu- 
lated without  regard  to  established  physico-chemical  laws. 

An  illustrative  example. — In  order  to  illustrate  the  importance  and  the 
fundamental  character  of  the  physico-chemical  relations  displayed  by  the 
phase-rule  diagram,  in  the  solution  of  problems  connected  with  the 
manufacture  and  use  of  refractories,  a  brief  consideration  of  such  a  dia- 
gram for  the  system  magnesia-alumina,  will  be  given  here.  In  other 
words,  given  the  two  substances  magnesia,  MgO  and  alumina,  A12O3, 
what  are  the  possibilities,  as  displayed  by  the  phase-rule  diagram,  of 
manufacturing  refractory  products  from  these  two  materials?  The 
phase-rule  diagram  for  this  system  is  shown  in  figure  2.4  In  this  figure 
temperatures  are  indicated  vertically  and  compositions,  expressed  in 
weight  percent,  horizontally. 

Both  magnesia  and  alumina  are  separately  employed  in  the  industries 
as  refractory  materials.  Alumina,  however,  at  present  market  prices 
is  considerably  cheaper  per  pound  than  magnesia.  Either  substance 
when  employed  alone  presents  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  suitable  bonding 
material  to  use  when  shaping  into  the  desired  form,  since  any  foreign 
bonding  material  which  remains  in  the  product  after  firing  results  in  a 
lowering  of  the  refractory  power,  while  a  bonding  material  which  burns 
out  during  the  firing  leaves  a  loose  structure  with  insufficient  mechanical 
strength  for  many  purposes. 

The  diagram  shows  that  pure  magnesia  will  not  liquefy  until  a  temper- 
ature of  2800°C.  is  attained.  In  other  words,  as  far  as  its  mere  resist- 
ance toward  softening  at  high  temperatures  is  concerned,  magnesia  is 
one  of  the  most  refractory  substances  which  we  have.  Although  no 
liquefaction  occurs  below  2SOO°C.  considerable  deterioration  occurs  at 
much  lower  temperatures  owing  to  crumbling,  spalling,  and  sublimation, 
the  volatility  of  the  magnesia  being  so  high  that  at  high  temperatures  the 
magnesia  vapors  from  a  furnace  lining  will  fill  the  whole  interior  of  the 


12 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 


furnace  and  condense  upon  everything  contained  therein.  This  char- 
acteristic makes  it  undesirable  to  use  magnesia  as  a  refractory  for  many 
purposes. 

In  order  to  increase  the  mechanical  strength  of  a  refractory  body, 
both  in  the  green  state  and  after  firing,  it  is  frequently  customary  to  mix 
with  the  principal  constituent  a  small  amount  of  a  second  constituent 
to  act  as  a  bond.  For  example,  let  us  suppose  that  small  amounts  of 
alumina  were  mixed  with  magnesia  for  this  purpose.  The  problem  then 


2800 
2100 
2600 
2500 


2200 


Zooo 


-1       \ 


/O         20         30         40         SO          GO         To 


FIG.  2. 


go         90 


presents  itself  as  to  the  magnitude  of  the  effect  of  such  admixtures  upon 
the  refractory  power  of  the  magnesia.  The  answer  to  this  question  can 
be  obtained  from  the  phase-rule  diagram.  The  curve  in  figure  2  shows 
that  if  any  quantity  of  alumina,  no  matter  how  small  and  not  exceeding 
70%,  be  mixed  with  the  magnesia,  the  liquefaction  temperature,  that  is 
the  temperature  at  which  liquefaction  will  begin,  drops  at  once  from  2800° 
to  2030°.  In  other  words,  alumina,  present  as  an  impurity  or  added  for 
bonding  purposes  to  magnesia,  always  decreases  the  initial  liquefaction 
temperature  by  770°. 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASBBURN  13 

This  initial  liquefaction  temperature  is  known  as  the  "eutectic  tem- 
perature," and  the  first  portions  of  liquid  which  appear  when  this  tem- 
perature is  reached  will  not  have  the  composition  of  the  original  body, 
but  instead  will  have  what  is  known  as  the  eutectic  composition,  that  is, 
the  composition  corresponding  to  the  eutectic  point,  which  for  the  case 
under  consideration  is  shown  by  the  diagram  to  be  55%  of  alumina  and 
45%  of  magnesia.  The  maximum  amount  of  this  liquid  which  can  be 
formed  by  heating  the  refractory  body  to  any  given  temperature  can  also 
be  readily  calculated  from  the  diagram.  The  resultant  weakening  of 
the  mechanical  strength  of  the  refractory  body  depends  of  course  upon 
the  amount  of  this  liquid  which  is  formed.  A  small  quantity  of  liquid 
might  be  held  in  the  pores  of  the  body  without  decreasing  very  greatly 
its  mechanical  strength,  but  as  the  amount  of  the  liquid  increases  the 
strength  of  the  body  continually  decreases  until  finally  a  cone  made  of 
the  material  is  no  longer  able  to  stand  up  under  its  own  weight,  owing 
to  the  fluidity  produced  by  the  presence  of  the  eutectic  liquid  in  its  pores. 

Turning  now  to  alumina,  we  notice  from  the  diagram  that  a  refrac- 
tory body  made  of  pure  alumina  will  show  no  liquefaction  whatever  until 
a  temperature  of  2050°  is  reached,  while  the  admixture  of  any  quantity 
of  magnesia  not  exceeding  30%  by  weight  with  the  alumina  will  give  a 
body  which  begins  to  liquefy  at  1925°,  which  is  the  eutectic  point  on  the 
right  of  the  diagram.  It  is  evident  that  alumina  as  an  impurity  in  mag- 
nesia produces  a  much  greater  lowering  in  the  initial  liquefaction  tem- 
perature than  does  magnesia  as  an  impurity  in  alumina. 

Whenever  a  phase-rule  diagram  exhibits  a  maximum  point,  it  always 
means  that  a  chemical  compound  is  formed  between  the  two  compo- 
nents, the  melting  point  of  this  compound  being  the  temperature  corre- 
sponding to  the  maximum  point  and  the  composition  of  the  compound 
being  the  abscissa  of  this  point.  Thus  the  diagram  in  figure  2  tells  us 
that  a  chemical  compound  between  magnesia  and  alumina  containing 
28%  of  magnesia  and  72%  of  alumina  and  hence  having  the  formula 
Al2O:!.MgO  is  formed  and  that  this  compound  has  a  melting  point  of 
2135°.  If  therefore  we  proceed  to  manufacture  a  refractory  body  by 
mixing  together  alumina  and  magnesia  in  the  molal  ratio  1  to  1  (i.e.,  28% 
"MgO  and  72%  A12O3  by  weight),  we  can  obtain  a  product  which  can  be 
employed  as  a  refractory  at  any  temperature  up  to  2135°  without  the 
occurrence  of  any  liquefaction.  This  magnesium  aluminate  is  thus  a 
somewhat  better  refractory  than  alumina  alone,  since  it  will  stand  a  tem- 
perature 85°  higher  than  pure  alumina  will.  The  diagram  also  shows 
that  small  errors  in  the  composition  of  the  body  would  not  produce  very 


14  REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 

serious  results  upon  its  refractory  power  since  an  excess  of  alumina  lowers 
the  liquefaction  temperature  only  210°  and  an  excess  of  magnesia  only 
105°. 

In  addition  to  the  increase  in  refractory  power  which  can  be  obtained 
by  adding  to  alumina  enough  magnesia  to  combine  completely  with  it, 
certain  other  advantages  are  secured  at  the  same  time.  We  have  men- 
tioned above  the  difficulty  of  securing  a  bond  when  manufacturing  a 
refractory  out  of  a  single  material;  in  fact,  to  manufacture  a  refractory 
of  high  mechanical  strength  out  of  pure  alumina  would  require  either 
long  firing  or  a  firing  temperature  close  to  the  melting  point,  that  is,  a 
firing  temperature  of  about  2000°  which  is  scarcely  practicable  on  an 
industrial  scale,  except  with  the  aid  of  an  electric  furnace.  By  mixing 
together  magnesia  and  alumina  in  the  molal  ratio  of  1  to  1  and  firing 
the  resultant  body,  the  compound,  magnesium  aluminate,  will  formr 
even  at  temperatures  considerably  below  its  melting  point.  The  for- 
mation of  this  compound,  which  probably  occurs  through  the  gaseous 
phase  owing  to  the  mutual  vaporization  of  the  constituents  in  the  pores 
of  the  body,  usually  results  in  a  mass  of  small  interlacing  crystals  and 
consequently  gives  a  product  of  increased  mechanical  strength  and 
toughness.  The  formation  of  this  compound  is  accompanied  by  a  large 
shrinkage  during  burning,  and  a  consequent  increase  in  density  thus 
making  it  desirable  to  pre-calcine  and  grind  part  of  the  body  mixture 
before  shaping  into  the  desired  form. 

The  formation  of  such  a  compound  between  the  two  materials  may 
also  be  expected  to  decrease  greatly  the  volatility  of  both  materials; 
to  increase  their  resistance  toward  many  chemical  agencies  and  in  some 
cases  toward  mechanical  abrasion. 

Still  greater  mechanical  strength,  as  well  as  a  diminished  porosity  and 
greater  resistance  toward  mechanical  abrasion  than  that  which  is  pro- 
duced by  the  chemical  combination  referred  to  above,  can  of  course  be 
secured  by  adding  to  the  body  a  material  for  the  purpose  of  producing 
vitrification;  but  the  increased  strength  and  resistance  obtained  in  this 
way  can  usually  be  secured  only  with  the  sacrifice  of  some  of  the  refrac- 
tory power.  While  it  is  not  necessarily  impossible  to  produce  vitrifica- 
tion without  loss  of  refractory  power,  extremely  high  firing  tempera- 
tures would  usually  be  required  to  obtain  such  a  result. 

The  above  conclusions  may  be  summed  up  as  follows:  Any  refractory 
body  manufactured  from  alumina  and  magnesia  will  begin  to  liquefy  at 
1925°  if  it  contains  less  than  71%  of  alumina,  and  at  2030°  if  it  contains 
more  than  71%  of  alumina.  But  a  body  having  exactly  the  composition, 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  15 

71%  alumina,  will  show  no  liquefaction  whatever  until  a  temperature  of 
2135°  is  reached.  The  amount  and  composition  of  the  liquid  which  is 
formed  by  heating  a  body  composed  of  magnesia  and  alumina  in  any 
given  proportions  to  any  given  temperature  can  be  exactly  calculated  from 
the  phase-rule  diagram.  Owing  to  the  formation  of  a  chemical  com- 
pound between  the  constituents,  decreased  volatility  with  increased  me- 
chanical strength  and  resistance  to  abrasion  and  chemical  action  may  be 
looked  for.  Numerous  other  examples  illustrating  the  value  of  phase- 
rule  diagrams  in  solving  problems  connected  with  the  preparation  and 
behavior  of  refractory  materials  might  be  cited.5 

Among  the  substances  which  might  properly  be  included  in  a  compre- 
hensive phase-rule  investigation  of  refractory  materials  are  the  following : 
carbon,  silica;  the  oxides  of  calcium,  strontium,  barium,  magnesium,  and 
beryllium;  the  oxides  of  alumina,  iron,  chromium  and  molybdenum;  the 
oxides  of  titanium  and  zirconium;  various  rare  earth  oxides;  and  certain 
nitrides  and  carbides — such  as  boron  nitride  and  silicon  carbide.  In 
addition  to  these  substances,  the  oxides  of  the  alkali  metals  should  also 
be  included  because  of  their  common  occurrence  as  impurities  in  refrac- 
tory raw  materials  and  their  powerful  fluxing  action,  made  use  of  in  pro- 
ducing vitrification. 

The  total  number  of  different  systems  which  could  be  prepared  by  the 
combination  of  even  20  different  components,  up  to  and  including  four- 
component  systems,  is  at  least  6195,  so  that  evidently  the  task  of  making 
anything  like  an  exhaustive  investigation  covering  all  of  the  above  ma- 
terials would  be  enormous.  It  is  evident  therefore  that  a  selection  of 
the  systems  to  be  studied  would  be  necessary,  based  upon  the  relative 
importance  of  these  systems  for  practical  purposes. 

Most  of  the  experimental  work  which  has  been  required  in  order  to 
complete  the  study  of  the  few  systems  which  have  thus  far  been  thor- 
oughly investigated  has  been  carried  out  in  the  Geophysical  Laboratory 
of  the  Carnegie  Institution  of  Washington.  The  phase-rule  diagrams 
for  the  following  systems  have  thus  far  been  wholly  or  partially 
completed : 

1.  One-component  systems:  silica,  alumina,  magnesia,  lime,  carbon. 

2.  Two-component  systems:    silica-alumina,   silica-magnesia,  silica- 
lime,    ferric    oxide-lime,    alumina-lime,    alumina-magnesia,    hematite- 
magnetite. 

3.  Three-component  systems:  silica-alumina-magnesia,  silica-alumina- 
lime,  silica-magnesia-lime,  alumina-magnesia-lime. 

4.  Four-component   systems    (partial   studies   only) :   silica-alumina- 
magnesia-lime,  silica-alumina-lime-soda,  silica-alumina-potash-soda. 


16  REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 

5.  Five-component  systems  (partial  studies  only) :  silica-alumina-mag- 
nesia-lime-soda. 

In  view  of  the  special  knowledge  and  experience  which  the  Geophysi- 
cal Laboratory  has  obtained  in  dealing  with  the  difficult  problems  con- 
nected with  phase-rule  investigations  at  high  temperatures,  it  would 
certainly  be  advantageous  if  the  direction  and  control  of  the  work  of  a 
Division  of  Phase-Rule  Investigations  could  be  centered  at  this  laboratory. 
In  order  to  do  this  satisfactorily,  it  would  probably  be  best  to  establish, 
if  possible,  a  section  in  that  laboratory  for  the  special  purpose  of  planning 
and  conducting  phase-rule  investigations  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
importance  of  these  investigations  to  the  subject  of  refractory  materi- 
als. The  work  of  the  present  staff  of  that  laboratory  is  naturally  in- 
spired by  geological  interests  and  the  phase-rule  diagrams  which  have 
been  worked  out  there  are  the  result  of  the  importance  of  these  dia- 
grams in  their  bearing  upon  geological  and  mineralogical  problems  rather 
than  of  their  importance  in  relation  to  refractory  materials. 

In  addition  to  the  actual  experimental  work  which  might  be  carried 
out  at  the  Geophysical  Laboratory  in  accordance  with  some  cooperative 
arrangement,  an  advisory  supervision  and  coordination  of  investigations 
along  similar  lines  in  other  laboratories  could  to  advantage  be  centered 
in  the  same  institution  which  would  thus  become  the  headquarters  for 
this  Division. 

In  case  the  necessary  arrangements  could  not  be  made  with  the  Geo- 
physical Laboratory,  it  would  then  be  best,  if  possible,  to  center  the 
work  of  this  Division  at  one  of  the  other  institutions  having  well  equipped 
ceramic  laboratories.  The  Bureau  of  Standards,  the  Bureau  of  Mines, 
the  ceramic  departments  of  several  of  the  universities,  and  perhaps 
of  certain  private  institutions  should  receive  consideration  in  this 
connection. 

10.  Division  3.  Physical  constants. — It  would  be  the  duty  of  this  Di- 
vision to  compile  all  the  available  data  concerning  the  physical,  chemical 
and  ceramic  properties  of  refractory  raw  materials  and  manufactured  prod- 
ucts, to  keep  this  compilation  up-to-date  in  a  readily  accessible  form,  to 
promote  the  necessary  investigations  for  increasing  our  knowledge  of 
such  properties,  and  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  all  investigators  in  this 
field  to  the  end  that  experimental  methods  might  be  improved  and 
standardized,  and  undesirable  duplication  avoided.  Eventually  this 
Division  might  desire  to  establish  a  laboratory  of  its  own  or  arrange  to 
have  its  work  carried  out  by  special  arrangements  with  some  existing 
laboratory,  such  for  example  as  the  Bureau  of  Standards. 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  17 

11.  Division  4.    Standard  methods  for  testing  refractory  products. — The 
function  of  this  Division  would  be  the  development  of  standard  methods 
for  testing  products  in  order  that  the  results  of  such  tests  should  indicate 
as  clearly  as  possible  the  behavior  which  might  be  expected  of  each  ma- 
terial under  service  conditions.     The  methods  to  be  employed  in  testing 
a  given  material  would  naturally  vary  according  to  the  use  to  which  the 
material  was  to  be  put.     The  work  of  this  Division  should  be  correlated 
with  that  of  the  American  Society  for  Testing  Materials  and  the  corre- 
sponding committees  of  the  American  Ceramic  Society.     For  a  time  at 
least,  the  experimental  investigations  might  be  carried  out  by  enlisting 
the  cooperation  of  a  number  of  different  laboratories  and  the  work  might 
to  advantage  be  centered  at  the  Bureau  of  Standards. 

The  work  of  Divisions  3  and  4  deals  with  questions  which  are  prob- 
ably the  most  pressing  ones  at  the  present  time.  That  is,  an  accurate  and 
complete  knowledge  of  the  properties  of  refractory  materials  and  products 
and  the  development  of  tests  which  will  accurately  depict  the  behavior  of 
these  materials  under  service  conditions  are  very  much  needed. 

12.  Division  5.     Raw  materials  specifications. — This  Division  would 
formulate  the  specifications  to  be  met  by  each  raw  material  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  each  type  of  refractory  product.     These  specifica- 
tions would  cover  such  factors  as  chemical  and  mineralogical  composi- 
tion, crystallographic  condition,  texture,  state  of  mechanical  division, 
fusibility,  and  all  the  important  ceramic  properties  such  as  plasticity, 
burning  behavior,  properties  developed  on  burning,  etc.     The  work  of 
this  Division  might  also  be  carried  on  for  a  time  and  perhaps  perma- 
nently by  cooperative  arrangements  with  existing  laboratories. 

13.  Division  6.     Manufacturing  methods  .—This  Division  would  study 
the  processes  employed  in  manufacturing  each  type  of  refractory  and 
recommend  such  changes  as  would  result  in  improvements  in  quality, 
decreased  cost  of  production  and  increased  definition  and  standardization 
of  product.     Every  effort  should  be  made  to  design  and  manufacture 
refractories  adapted  to  the  special  requirements  of  the  furnace  in  which 
they  are  to  be  used.     That  is,  insofar  as  commercially  practicable,  the 
refractory  should  in  each  instance  be  made  for  the  furnace,  not  the  fur- 
nace for  the  refractory.     In  an  actual  working  organization,  it  would  per- 
haps be  desirable  to  unite  divisions  5  and  6. 

14.  Division  7.     Standard  Specifications  for  Refractory  Products. — This 
Division,   as  well  as  Divisions  4  and    6  above,   should    probably  be 
organized  in  sections,  with  a  section  for  each  industry  requiring  a  special 
class  of  refractories.    Among  the  most  important  users  of  refractory  prod- 
ucts which  would  be  represented  by  sections  in  this  Division,  are: 


18  REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 

1.  The  iron  and  steel  industry. 

2.  The  various  non-ferrous  metal  industries. 

3.  The  gas  industry. 

4.  The  by-product  coke  industries. 

5.  The  glass  industry. 

6.  The  pottery  and  porcelain  industries. 

7.  The  brick,  tile  and  sewer  pipe  industries. 

8.  The  cement  industry. 

9.  The  various  industries  employing  electric  furnaces. 

10.  The  enameling  industries. 

11.  The  great  variety  of  chemical  industries  employing  high  tempera- 
tures. 

12.  Power  plants. 

Each  section  would  draw  up  the  specifications  which  should  be  met 
by  each  type  of  refractory  required  in  the  corresponding  industry. 

The  labors  of  this  Division  should  be  closely  correlated  with  those  of 
Divisions  3,  4  and  6,  the  work  of  which  would,  to  a  large  degree,  consti- 
tute the  foundations  upon  which  this  Division  would  build.  In  a  work- 
ing organization,  it  would  perhaps  be  desirable  to  unite  Divisions  4  and  7. 

15.  Division  8.     The  engineering  division. — The  principal  work  of  this 
Division  would  be  in  connection  with  the  design  and  methods  of  opera- 
tion of  industrial  kilns  and  furnaces,  the  purpose  being  to  establish  the 
best  design  of  furnace  or  kiln  and  the  most  efficient  method  of  operating 
the  same  for  each  particular  industry  or  process  employing  high  tempera- 
tures.    This  Division  would  perhaps  be  organized  in  sections  correspond- 
ing to  the  various  types  of  furnaces  required.     Owing  to  the  large  scale 
experiments  involved  in  research  in  this  field,  it  is  clear  that  large  ex- 
penditures would  be  required  for  carrying  out  any  extensive  research 
program. 

16.  Division  9.     Geology  and  mining. — The  function  of  this  Division 
would  be  to  promote  the  extension  of  geological  surveys  looking  toward 
the  location  and  mapping  of  deposits  of  refractory  raw  materials,  to  in- 
vestigate any  other  geological  problems  of  importance  to  the  subject, 
and  to  secure  the  further  study  and  development  and  greater  utilization 
of  improved  methods  of  mining,  handling  and  preparing  these  materials. 
This  Division  should  cooperate  with  the  United  States  Geological  Sur- 
vey, the  United  States  Bureau  of  Mines,  the  Association  of  American 
State  Geologists,  and  the  National  Research  Council,  which  organiza- 
tions have  recently  formulated  and  are  putting  into  effect  a  plan  for  a 
cooperative  survey  of  the  ceramic  resources  of  the  country.     A  descrip- 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  19 

tion  of  this  plan  is  contained  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Pittsburgh  Confer- 
ence.6   This  Division  would  cooperate  closely  with  Division  5. 

17.  Division   10.     Coordination  and  international  cooperation. — This 
Division  would  be  composed  of  the  chiefs  of  each  of  the  other  Divisions 
together  with  representatives  of  the  National  Research  Council,  and 
possibly  of  other  organizations,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Scientific 
Director.    It  would  be  the  duty  of  this  Division  to  see  that  the  neces- 
sary coordination  was  secured  in  the  labors  of  each  of  the  other  Divi- 
sions and  to  promote  any  desirable  international  cooperation  in  refrac- 
tory materials   research.     The   headquarters   of   this   Division   might 
advantageously  be  located  at  Washington,  and  as  far  as  international 
relations  are  concerned,  the  work  of  the  Division  could  perhaps  be  most 
conveniently  transacted  through  the  international  connections  already 
established  by  the  National  Research  Council. 

This  Division  might  also  prepare  a  research  census  of  all  agencies  en- 
gaged in  refractories  research  and  arrange  to  receive  regular  reports  of 
progress. 

An  attempt  to  form  an  organization  for  cooperative  research  in  re- 
fractory materials  has  been  made  in  England  and  a  report  dealing  with 
(a)  Refractory  materials  required  by  the  various  industries;  (b)  The 
laboratory  facilities  available  for  refractory  research  in  public  institu- 
tions of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland;  (c)  The  facilities  existing  in  England 
for  collecting  and  publishing  information  on  refractory  materials;  (d) 
The  problems  calling  for  the  most  important  action ;  and  (e)  The  special 
requirements  of  each  industry,  was  adopted  by  a  conference  held  at 
London,  in  July,  1917,  and  has  been  published.  The  writer  is  informed 
that  plans  have  been  perfected  for  the  immediate  establishment  in  Eng- 
land of  a  research  laboratory  similar  to  the  Geophysical  Laboratory  of 
the  Carnegie  Institution,  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  investigations 
of  the  fundamental  chemical  and  physical  properties  of  refractory 
materials. 

The  ceramic  industries  of  France  have  also  recently  formed  an  asso- 
ciation known  as  the  Syndicat  des  Fabricants  de  Produiis  Ceramiques 
de  France  and  cooperative  relations  should  be  established  with  the  re- 
fractories section  of  this  association. 

18.  Financing  the  research  organization. — An  organization  constituted 
in  accordance  with  some  such  scheme  as  that  outlined  in  the  foregoing 
pages  would  require  liberal  financial  provision  for  its  operation.     Ample 
financial  resources  for  inaugurating  the  undertaking  might  be  secured  if 
each  producer  of  refractory  materials  or  products  would  contribute  to  a 


20  REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 

common  fund  an  annual  self-imposed  tax  of  say  0.2  of  1%  of  the  annual 
sales  value  of  his  output.  In  comparison  with  the  tax  which  his  business 
pays  to  state  and  nation,  to  fire,  risk,  and  liability  companies  in  the  form 
of  insurance  premiums,  and  to  legal  counsel  in  the  form  of  retaining  fees, 
a  research  tax  of  0.2  of  1%  is  insignificant.  Such  a  tax  would  provide  an 
annual  income  of  over  $100,000  for  a  Refractories  Research  Corporation, 
and  this  income  would  automatically  increase  from  year  to  year  with  the 
growth  of  the  industry.  If  users  of  refractories,  as  well  as  producers, 
were  admitted  to  the  organization  (and  this  would  be  highly  desirable) 
the  above  estimated  annual  income  of  the  Research  Corporation  could 
be  increased  by  more  than  50%,  by  a  similar  rate  of  taxation  on  the  an- 
nual purchase  value  of  all  refractories  purchased  by  each  user. 

In  this  connection  the  following  paragraphs  from  a  recent  address  de- 
livered by  Dr.  John  Johnston  before  the  American  Zinc  Institute  are 
much  to  the  point: 

Most  large  firms  take  out  insurance  of  various  kinds  and  make  regular  al- 
lowance for  depreciation  of  plant  and  equipment;  comparatively  few  make 
expenditures  on  research  as  a  fixed  charge  on  their  business.  And  yet 
this  insurance  against  ignorance  is  comparatively  cheap;  one  large  firm  con- 
siders it  certain  that  the  amount  gained  directly  from  their  research  work — 
without  taking  into  accouut  the  less  tangible,  though  certain,  benefits — has 
been  at  least  ten  times  its  cost.  But  to  get  the  full  benefit  of  such  insurance 
it  is  necessary  to  go  systematically  into  the  fundamentals  of  the  question,  to 
ascertain  precisely  what  is  happening  at  each  stage  of  the  operation.  The 
absolute  necessity  of  such  fundamental  work  is  insisted  upon  by  all  of  the  big 
firms  which  have  gone  into  systematic  research  work  and  found  it  profitable. 
This  implies  a  fairly  large  expenditure  which,  though  a  relatively  small  matter 
for  a  large  firm,  would  not  be  possible  to  a  small  firm  because  it  would  consti- 
tute too  large  a  charge  on  its  total  annual  product.  But  smaller  units  may  or- 
ganize to  carry  out  research  work  cooperatively,  and  so  gain  equal,  if  not 
greater  advantage  at  a  comparatively  small  cost  to  each  individual  unit. 

The  National  Canners  Association  some  years  ago  established  in  Washing- 
ton a  laboratory  to  take  up  some  of  the  difficulties  of  the  canning  industry; 
and  this  laboratory  has  been  so  successful  that  it  is  now  considered  to  be  one 
of  the  assets  of  the  industry.  In  Britain  the  plan  of  establishing  a  cooperative 
research  organization  is  being  considered  by  a  number  of  industries ;  the  most 
substantial  progress  has  been  made  by  the  cotton  industry,  a  provisional  com- 
mittee of  which  has  worked  out  a  scheme  of  procedure  in  considerable  detail. 
They  are  establishing  the  British  Cotton  Research  Association  that  will  in- 
clude as  members,  cotton-spinning  and  thread-making  firms,  manufacturers 
of  cloth,  lace  and  hosiery,  bleachers,  dyers,  printers  and  finishers;  it  will  conduct 
researches  which  include  the  study  of  the  cotton  plant  at  one  end  and  the  'fin- 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  21 

ishing'  of  the  manufactured  article  at  the  other,  and  also  encourage  and  im- 
prove the  education  of  persons  who  are,  or  may  be  engaged  in  the  industry. 
They  have  published  a  very  interesting  pamphlet*  on  'Scientific  Research  in 
Relation  to  Cotton  and  the  Cotton  Industry,'  in  which  a  popular  account  of 
the  matter  is  given.  It  would  lead  too  far  to  go  into  the  matter  but  this  report 
brings  out  one  important  point  deserving  of  mention  here — namely,  with  re- 
spect to  the  cost  of  such  research  work  to  each  member  of  the  Association. 
On  the  basis  that  the  Association  would  spend  $250,000  a  year  on  research 
work,  it  is  shown  that  the  cost  to  each  member  would  be  only  about  10%  of  his 
fire  insurance  premium,  25%  of  the  cost  of  health  insurance,  or  about  20%  of 
the  cost  of  employers'  liability  insurance.  In  other  words,  the  scientific  and 
technical  health  of  the  industry  can  be  insured  at  a  very  small  cost. 

The  organization  of  most  of  the  Divisions  would  naturally  be  a  gradual 
process  dependent  in  each  instance  upon  the  finding  of  the  right  man  to 
head  the  Division  and  the  working  out  of  a  definite  research  program 
which  would  receive  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  Any  at- 
tempt to  create  from  the  beginning  a  full  fledged  organization,  such  as 
that  outlined  above,  would  probably  result  in  numerous  disappoint- 
ments. A  not  improbable  eventual  development  of  the  work  might  be 
the  establishment  of  a  large  central  laboratory  and  testing  station  in 
which  all  of  the  research  work  of  the  Association  would  be  carried  out. 
The  experience  of  several  of  the  large  corporations,  such  as  the  General 
Electric  Company  and  the  Eastman  Kodak  Company,  and  of  the  Na- 
tional Canners  Association,  has  demonstrated  the  success  of  this  method 
of  conducting  industrial  research.  Some  of  the  obvious  advantages  of 
this  concentrated  form  of  organization  over  the  distributed  type  of  or- 
ganization are  (1)  the  opportunity  for  frequent  personal  conferences 
among  the  different  types  of  experts  on  the  staff;  (2)  the  avoidance  of 
duplication  of  equipment;  (3)  the  saving  of  the  time  and  energy  of  the 
Director.  The  first  of  these  is  probably  the  greatest  virtue  of  the  con- 
centrated form  of  organization  and  is  the  one  to  which  its  great  success 
is  most  largely  due. 

19.  The  practicability  of  forming  a  refractories  research  corporation. — 
Whether  and  in  how  far  it  is  feasible,  under  the  industrial  and  economic 
conditions  which  exist  in  the  refractories  industries  at  the  present  time, 
to  form  a  research  corporation  for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting  coopera- 
tive research  in  this  field  could  probably  only  finally  be  determined  by 
attempting  to  form  such  an  organization.  Viewed  purely  from  the  sci^ 
entiiic  side,  the  field  is  a  sufficiently  homogeneous  one  to  make  such  an 

*  Copies  obtainable  from  the  Secretary,  108  Deansgate,  Manchester;  (price  nine  pence). 


22  REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 

organization  practicable  and  desirable,  but  viewed  from  the  industrial 
and  commercial  side,  this  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  the  case.  The  manu- 
facturers themselves  and  many  of  the  users  of  refractory  materials  are 
industrial  competitors  and  this  element  of  competition  is  alone  sufficient 
to  make  the  actual  realization  of  any  such  plan  as  that  proposed  here 
extremely  difficult,  if  not  quite  impossible.  Industrially  and  commer- 
cially the  field  is  a  very  heterogeneous  one,  involving  many  diverse  and 
conflicting  interests.  Some  of  the  larger  manufacturers  already  have 
their  own  research  laboratories  for  dealing  with  the  problems  peculiar 
to  their  own  product,  and  the  first  interest  of  each  manufacturer  is  nat- 
urally the  well  being  of  his  own  business  rather  than  the  development  and 
perfection  of  our  knowledge  of  refractory  materials  in  general. 

The  preparation  of  any  research  budget  to  be  defrayed  by  appro- 
priations from  a  common  fund  contributed  to  by  all  manufacturers  and 
users  of  refractories  would  present  almost  insuperable  difficulties.  Per- 
haps the  only  Divisions  in  which  anything  like  unanimous-  agreement  as 
to  expenditures  could  be  secured  would  be  Divisions  1  and  9.  In  the 
case  of  the  other  Divisions  it  would  seem  that  a  budget  could  be  agreed 
upon  only  if  the  expenses  of  the  different  undertakings  in  each  Division 
were  defrayed  by  those  manufacturers  and  users  to  whom  the  results  of 
these  particular  investigations  would  be  of  direct  and  immediate  value. 
For  example,  to  take  an  extreme  case,  one  could  hardly  expect  that  the 
manufacturers  of  clay  refractories  would  be  especially  interested  in  help- 
ing to  defray  the  expenses  of  an  investigation  of  boron  nitride  as  a  re- 
fractory. Certainly  if  any  part  of  a  common  fund  were  used  in  this 
way,  any  contribution  of  the  manufacturers  of  clay  refractories  towards 
such  investigations  would  be  a  purely  altruistic  one.  Furthermore,  any 
common  fund  created  by  contributions  based  upon  the  sales  and  purchase 
value  of  products  would  in  large  part  be  made  up  of  contributions  from 
manufacturers  and  users  of  a  comparatively  small  number  of  types  of 
refractories,  since  most  of  the  tonnage  of  refractories  used  in  modern 
industry  consists  of  clay  and  silica  materials,  and  these  contributors 
would  naturally  be  primarily  interested  only  in  investigations  dealing 
with  these  particular  classes  of  refractories.  For  the  same  reasons  any 
considerable  expenditure  for  the  work  of  Division  2,  for  example,  could 
hardly  be  expected  from  other  than  altruistic  motives,  since  the  phase- 
rule  diagrams  for  the  refractory  materials  most  largely  used  and  for  which 
the  necessary  tonnage  of  raw  materials  is  in  sight  have  already  been 
worked  out  and  hence  the  development  of  any  refractory  which  would 
to  any  considerable  degree  replace  any  of  these  materials  would  only 


REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN  23 

be  commercially  possible  in  case  it  had  a  much  longer  life  under  service 
conditions  than  the  types  of  refractories  now  employed. 

Moreover,  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that  the  manufacturers  of  a 
given  type  of  refractory  would  be  interested  in  promoting  an  investiga- 
tion which  might  conceivably  result  in  the  perfection  of  a  product  of  suf- 
ficient commercial  practicability  to  destroy  or  to  greatly  injure  their 
own  business,  however  desirable  from  a  national  viewpoint  such  a  result 
might  be.  Certainly  such  investigations  could  be  undertaken  only  if 
adequate  provisions  for  safe-guarding  the  financial  interests  of  all  mem- 
bers against  such  possibilities  as  the  above  could  be  worked  out.  A 
single  industrial  corporation,  such  for  example  as  the  General  Electric 
Company,  can  undertake  investigations  leading  to  the  development  of 
products  which  may  require  the  scrapping  of  manufacturing  facilities 
representing  large  investments,  but  for  an  association  of  more  or  less 
competitive  interests  to  undertake  any  such  investigations  on  a  coop- 
erative basis  has  obviously  great  difficulties,  especially  if  both  manufac- 
turers and  users  are  included  in  the  organization.  These  difficulties 
would,  it  is  true,  be  greatly  diminished  if  the  association  included  only 
users  of  refractory  materials,  and  for  this  reason  it  may  be  that  the  coun- 
try will  eventually  have  to  look  to  the  consumers  of  refractories  for  the 
prosecution  in  a  large  way  of  systematic  research  in  this  field. 

It  seems  clear  to  the  writer  that  any  such  organization  as  the  'ideal' 
one  presented  in  the  preceding  pages  could  scarcely  be  developed  even 
eventually  except  by  private  or  governmental  endowment  or  by  the 
actual  industrial  amalgamation  of  all  or  the  greater  part  of  the  refrac- 
tories interests  of  the  country.  In  view  of  these  facts  it  may  be  that  the 
above  survey  of  the  scientific  aspects  of  the  subject  has  no  practical  value 
at  the  present  time,  but  if  it  serves  only  to  promote  discussion,  to  arouse 
further  interest  in  research  in  this  field,  and  to  bring  about  any  further 
degree  of  cooperation,  its  purpose  will  be  fulfilled.  Some  type  of  organi- 
zation for  accomplishing  at  least  a  portion  of  the  work  outlined  above 
ought  to  be  feasible.  Perhaps  several  more  or  less  independent  organiza- 
tions, instead  of  one,  would  be  required,  or  perhaps  an  association  of 
research  laboratories  engaged  in  refractories  research  might  be  able  to 
perfect  some  practicable  scheme  of  cooperation.  Certainly,  viewed 
solely  from  a  national  economic  viewpoint,  the  stimulation  of  research 
in  this  field  is  greatly  needed,  and  in  addition  to  supporting  the  investiga- 
tion of  those  problems  which  seem  most  urgent  from  the  'practical' 
viewpoint,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  to  some  degree  at  least  manufacturers 
and  users  of  refractories  will  be  willing  to  make  some  contributions  from 


24  REFRACTORIES:  E.  W.  WASHBURN 

more  purely  altruistic  motives;  that  is,  that  they  will  feel  ready  to  take 
some  share  in  the  promotion  of  all  classes  of  investigations  in  their  field, 
even  though  they  see  no  possibility  of  direct  or  immediate  financial  re- 
turn to  themselves.  Such  contribution  might  take  the  form  of  direct 
financial  assistance  or  the  form  of  supporting  the  efforts  of  federal, 
state  and  endowed  institutions  to  secure  larger  appropriations  for  carry- 
ing out  some  of  the  more  fundamental  scientific  work,  even  though  some 
of  this  work  may  seem  to  be  largely  of  the  type  ordinarily  classed  as  'pure 
science/  and  perhaps  appear  to  be  more  or  less  visionary  or  'impractical.' 
Certainly  the  history  of  the  development  of  science  and  industry  has 
repeatedly  demonstrated  the  enormous  ultimate  value  of  research  work 
of  this  character. 

1  See  also  Geo.  A.  Balz,  Why  Refractories  Are  a  World  Necessity,  Brick  and  Clay  Record 
48,  741  (1916). 

2  "It  will  be  recognized  by  all  who  have  studied  the  matter  closely  that  the  future  industrial 
success  of  any  country  will  largely  depend  upon  the  extent  to  which  it  develops  high  tempera- 
ture processes."     Cantor  Lecture,  by  C.  R.  Darling,  before  the  Royal  Society  of  Arts,  London, 
February,  1918. 

8  For  a  statement  of  the  factors  which  determine  the  fusibility  of  a  material,  see  Wash- 
burn,  Trans.  Am.  Ceram.  Soc.,  19,  195  (1917). 

4  See  Rankin  and  Merwin,  /.  Am.  Chem.  Soc.,  38,  571  (1916). 

6  See  Sosman,  /.  Ind.  Eng.  Chem..  8,  985  (1916);  Trans.  Far.  Soc.,  12  (1917). 

6  The  Clayworker,  69,  759  (1918). 


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